International Society for the Study of Behavioural

A study was conducted to show that economic and societal differences between the former Eastern and Western parts of Germany had produced differences in the timing of young people's school-to-work transitions. Data were collected from samples of approximately 350 participants from the West and 380 participants from the East conducted in 1991 and 1996. Participants were asked the ages at which vocational training was completed and financial support was achieved. The study found that the most common predictors of age of independence were choice of vocation and age of entry into elementary school. Choice of vocation mandated length of training, especially in the East, whereas age of entry into elementary school was consistent with length of schooling, but did not change the length of schooling across the board. Young people in the East became independent at slightly younger ages than did those in the West primarily because the avenues of vocational training were more standardized. This difference wa